Tag Archive: science & technology – beginner

Pre-reading questions: How often do you watch movies? Do you watch movies at home or at the movie theater? Vocabulary: top [TOP] (verb) – to be more than something Her savings topped $100 this month. expectation [ek-spek-TEY-shuh-n] (noun) – a strong belief that something will happen David did not have good expectations from the movie. stream [STREEM] (verb) – to watch movies on the Internet Janis prefers streaming to going to the movie theater. credit [KRE-dit] (verb) – to be responsible for something good The coach credits this win to the whole team. content [KON-tent] (noun) – a thing that is held or included in something The writers posted new…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you like using Twitter? Please explain your answer. Which is better, Facebook or Twitter? Please explain your answer. Vocabulary: advertising [noun] – the business of making paid announcements She works for an advertising company. transparency [noun] – quality of being easily seen Transparency must always be present in a company. users [noun] – someone who uses something All users were happy with their service. advertisement [noun] – announcements made to convince someone to buy something KFC’s advertisement featured their new chicken flavor. duration [noun] – the length of time something continues or exists We have set the duration of our ad until next month only. Twitter has…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you use Google Chrome? What are the popular websites in Japan? Vocabulary: search [verb] – to look for something I will search for my cellphone. website [noun] – a page on the internet with information about something I opened a website about food. search history [noun] – a list of websites the user has visited You can remove your search history on Google Chrome. information [noun] – facts learned about something The teacher gave us some information about the project. advertisement [noun] – a paid notice that tells people about a product or service There are a lot of advertisements at the mall. Google keeps a list…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you like watching movies online? Do you think watching movies in cinemas is more fun? Vocabulary: membership [noun] – to become a member of a club This coffee shop requires membership. prime membership [noun] – membership higher than a standard plan My prime membership at the health club will end next week. improve [verb] – become better She needs to improve her grades this year. standard [adjective] – considered normal I have a standard TV at home. plan [noun] – something that you pay for to receive a service My mobile phone plan is expensive.   Netflix will increase its membership fee. The standard membership plan for…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you like using smartphones? What do you usually do with your smartphone? Vocabulary: record [verb] – to put sounds or pictures onto a computer or other electronic device so that they can be heard or seen later I want to record my tutor’s class so I can study again later. share [verb] – tell someone about something Maria wants to share a story today. feedback [noun] – opinion about something; what someone thinks of something My boss gave me a good feedback on my report. application [noun] – a program in a computer or smartphone I use a smartphone application to call my mother everyday. convenient [adjective]…
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Pre-reading questions: Is internet connection important? Please explain your answer. How often do you use the internet? The US House of Representatives voted to replace some internet privacy rules. The old rules started when Obama was the president of the United States. The new rules will allow internet companies to sell their customers’ browsing history without their approval. Browsing history shows the websites an internet user visits, and his other personal data. If President Trump approves the rules, it will become a law. Vocabulary: vote [verb] – choose; decide allow [verb] – to give permission approval [noun] – to agree law [noun] – rules in a certain country website [noun]…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you have social media accounts? How often do you use them? Why? Facebook is still in hot seat because of the fake news issue. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, is not happy about it. They do not want fake news to be on the site. It is not easy to know which is fake and which is not. Mark said that they are also victims of the issue. Users who post and share these kinds of news are responsible for it. Vocabulary: hot seat – [idiom] in an uncomfortable situation fake – [adjective] not true issue – [noun] important topic or problem responsible – [adjective] having to do…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you know what skin cancer is? How do you take care of your skin? Do you wear sunblock? An image-scanning device was invented at Stanford University. It can identify skin cancers exactly like what doctors do. The team who created the software used an algorithm to train a computer to develop artificial intelligence to detect skin cancer. For the training, the team used 130,000 photos of different skin diseases. The system has a record of 2,032 different types of skin diseases. Using the pictures in the system, the device can check if a skin condition is cancerous or not. Vocabulary: invent [verb] – to make something new;…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you like using your smartphone? Why do people like smartphones a lot? A research in 2016 says that Americans keep their phones for about 22.7 months before changing it. The report was almost the same with large European users. On the other hand, the research shows that people in China change their phones faster. This is because there are a lot of budget phones available in the country. Also in China, there are many buyers and sellers of smartphones so people can buy phones easily and more frequently. Vocabulary: research [noun] – a study of a subject or topic large [adjective] – big budget [adjective] – cheap,…
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Pre-reading questions: How do you use your smartphone? Do you monitor your food? Why or why not? Lifelog is an application for health. It is from Sony and it can be used on smartphones. To use its new feature, you just take a picture of any food and the app will give you a complete information about it. The app will give you a calorie count of your food and personalized nutritional advice. The application still needs more testing for accuracy. Vocabulary: application [noun] – program designed for a purpose calorie [noun] – a unit of energy; a way of describing how much energy your body could get from eating…
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